In the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man, Edward Woodward, as devout Christian policeman Sergeant Howie, walks along the palm-fringed front of a remote Highlands village as he tries to discover the fate of a missing girl.

Woodward's character in the cult film, which co-starred Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland, is disturbed to learn the locals are pagan – and are plotting a shocking fate for him.

Some 40 years after Robin Hardy's movie explored a clash between Christianity and paganism, the residents of Plockton, where some scenes were shot, are engaged in a real life religious struggle.

The congregation of Plockton Church is furious at plans by the Church of Scotland (CoS) to sell the last place of worship in a village that was once home to four churches and where open-air communions have been held for centuries to mark important Christian occasions.

Worshippers say there will be no place for christenings, weddings and funerals and elderly people will be unable to travel to other remote churches in the far north-west of Scotland.

Villagers were angered to learn the church graveyard may be included in the sale, and fear it will be snapped up by property developers. Feelings and religious rivalries run deep in this part of Scotland, and the tension over the future of Plockton Church is compounded by the fact that the followers are part of a church that split from the Church of Scotland in the mid-19th century. Despite the breakaway, the Plockton members of the Free Church of Scotland – fabled for strict adherence to the sabbath and known as the "Wee Frees" – have been holding services in the church for more than 20 years under a lease agreement with the CoS, which stopped its own services there last year.

Charlie MacRae, chairman of Plockton and District community council, lives in the same Plockton home he was born in 75 years ago. He said: "Over 20 years ago the local free church was sold and turned into flats … It would be a disaster if Plockton Church went the same way. The community would also like to know what will happen to the graveyard as it is unclear whether it will be included in the sale."

The church was designed in 1827 by the Scottish civil engineer Thomas Telford. It cost just under £1,500 and was built after an appeal in 1819 by the CoS general assembly to the government for aid to build churches in the Highlands and Islands.

During the 19th century a growing population in rural areas meant ministers were unable to cope with the number of people in their parishes and there was little money in the Highlands for new churches. It was also feared that the Catholic church might increase its influence if a Presbyterian church was not readily available. The aftermath of the failed Jacobite risings in 1715 and 1745 had damaged Catholicism in Scotland but following Catholic emancipation in 1793 the religion began to regain civil respectability. In addition, Irish immigration was boosting the number of Catholics in the west of Scotland.

In July 1823 an act was passed "for building additional places of worship in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland" which led to churches being built on 40 sites including Plockton.

MacRae said local people would try to raise money to support an attempt from the free church to buy Plockton Church if it went on the market, but they feared being outbid by property developers because of its prime location. However, the Rev Roddie Rankin, of the Plockton and Kyle Free Church of Scotland, who has preached at Plockton Church for 20 years, said: "I remain hopeful services will continue at the church."

A CoS spokesperson said the decision to sell Plockton Church had not been a quick process, and "is one which has involved the congregation, the presbytery and the general trustees for some years. Sadly, the building is surplus to the congregation's requirements and as such is being sold.

"The Church of Scotland has corresponded with representatives of the local community council regarding the sale of the church and with the local free church congregation who are using the building for public worship. No final decision has been made about the future ownership of the graveyard."